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| RAAVANAN
VS RAAVAN |
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| By
Behindwoods Visitor Bharath Mahadevan |
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| The
views expressed in this column are that of the visitor.
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For
years now Mani Ratnam has never been able
to create a movie in the league of Nayagan,
Iruvar, Anjali or Kannathil. With Raavanan
(with the *an*), he has created a masterpiece
which can stake claim as one of his best
Tamil films ever. Raavan (without the
*an*) is good, but unfortunately Abhishek
had to be pitted against Vikram and this
is a no contest.
Unlike what most reviews say, Raavanan
is not to show how Vikram is a Robin Hood
or the gray in his character. Its a typical
Mani Ratnam movie where the audience effortlessly
falls in love with the anti-hero (more
effortlessly with every film of his -
from the detailed story in Nayagan to
not so detailed in Dalapathy to more and
more crisp editing in Dil Se and Guru).
Also, unlike what most reviews say, Raavanan
is anything but slow - It shows editing
at its best and crispiest - The Prithviraj
- Ash romance in one song, the Naxal theme
in one song, Vikram’s character
in a couple of frames and Vikram falling
in love in one brilliantly choreographed
song which is poetry in modern frames!
The editing is so taut that it’s
easy to miss a dialogue or a connection
to the epic - Hanuman, Vibheeshan, Kumbhakarna,
Jatayu. Blink and you miss a scene where
Ash gets out of the train and waits for
Prithviraj. Turn away and you miss the
human side of Vikram falling in love with
Ash.
This is one movie where Mani Ratnam has
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deliberately
left a lot of ambiguities. What does Sita go back
for? What happens after the end? Who does she love,
or does she love Raavanan at all? Who is Raavanan
- A brilliant psycho? Millions of voices ringing in
his head? Is the movie about Good Vs Evil, about how
love destroys, about the captive and captor? Or is
it about the Naxals? Or a bit of everything? Or is
it a simple love story? Is Prithviraj involved in
the Shurpanaka incident? Is he just a righteous cop
who'll do anything for justice? Was Ash imagining
Vikram falling on her and getting close to her, like
the other dream sequences?
There’s no point talking about the brilliantly
backlit frames, excellent music or the sets or the
cinematography - These are all taken for granted in
a Mani Ratnam movie. As are good acting performances
from the side cast, especially Priyamani, Prabhu,
Karthik and Ravi Kishen.
Finally, the point which most reviewers have missed.
Ash's performance - The best by any adult heroine
in a Mani Ratnam film (along with maybe Manisha in
Bombay), and the best by any heroine in recent times.
And Raavanan Vs Raavan - Raavan is by far better than
any of the mindless stuff which comes out of Bollywood
these days. And Abhishek doesn't have a good PR manager
like that fellow who played Arjun in Rajneeti :) Abhi
isn't as good as Vikram, but by any standards an Abhishek
performance in a Mani Ratnam film is better than any
other peer - Ranbir, Imran Khan etc.
Mani Ratnam is way ahead of his time in filmmaking.
He defines moviemaking style in India in terms of
camerawork, choreography, music and themes. Nayagan
came in years before Company and Sarkar or any Mafia
movie in India. Look at Mammootty and Rajnikanth in
Dalapathy versus Manoj Bajpai and Ajay Devgn in Raajneeti.
Dil Se was way ahead of its time. When Yuva was released,
Bollywood was still caught in the traditional fare.
Now, six years after Yuva we have mainstream films
which are not typical love stories. So we need to
wait for a few years for critics to applaud Raavan
(without the *an* - that’s already a masterpiece)
as a path breaking movie. Haven’t we waited
years for critics to say Iruvar, Dil Se and Yuva were
good movies after they were ripped apart when they
were launched?
Finally - Which other director in India would have
the guts to present Ram as the villain and Raavan
as the hero?
Raavan makes you think. It requires you to keep up
with its breakneck speed. Not a simple movie like
Guru, which is why it has flopped.
Bharath Mahadevan
bharath.mahadevan@gmail.com
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| Tags
: Raavanan,
Vikram,
Mani
Ratnam,
Aishwarya
Rai,
Abhishek
Bachchan,
Priyamani,
Raavan |
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